Send

***This review is filled with spoilers of the very worst type, so if you've made it this far, this is your final warning. I even sort of spoil another popular book. I just can't talk about this book without talking about everything that happened.***I went into this book with trepidation. I was Liam. I was bullied throughout my entire public school career, so badly that, one day, when I was 15, I took one of my father's pocket knives and attempted to carve a vein out of my left arm. It's a good thing I didn't know that a cross cut is far less effective than a cut straight up the arm, or I wouldn't be writing this. But that was 31 years ago, and now I have a scar that's actually my badge of bravery, because I got out of high school alive and actually made a life for myself. I am also SO thankful that I went to school prior to the invention of the net, because then it would probably have been even worse, and the fact that you can google "how to successfully commit suicide" would not have been lost to a kid that excelled in research.Instead, this book made me angry. Very angry.I was angry at Julie, for obvious reasons, for a good part of the book. Of course I knew exactly who she was from the moment I met her (If you've read Ten Tiny Breaths you'll know what I mean). I couldn't be sure if she was plotting revenge or something else. So even though I felt for her, I never actually felt comfortable with her. I was angry at Pops. I'm sorry, but the way he turned his back on Ken was just wrong. No matter how angry he was over Ken's "running", the kid needed someone to love him, not a wall of silence. I was angry at the parents, because they just couldn't accept the level of guilt Ken was experiencing. It was almost as if they wanted to say to him "snap out of it". And of course I was angry at Mr. Murphy, not for the fact that he wanted revenge - I'm a father and I could get what he was feeling - but the fact that he pushed everyone else out of his life in order to get it. And he destroyed himself.I was expecting to hate Dan. The fact is, he was the character I actually liked the most. I actually empathized with him. I felt his pain (I hope that doesn't sound too Clintonian). I like that he "got" it, the he was mature enough and good enough of a person to feel the remorse he did. He was right to feel awful for what he did, but he wasn't a murderer. I felt from him even though we at one point would have been on opposite sides of the fence. That is an achievement that the author can be proud of.See, what I wish had been brought up more in the book, besides the fact that it was Liam's choice not to talk to anyone about what was going on (the same choice I made), and the fact that it was Liam's choice to commit suicide (again, the same choice I made), Ken's posting of the picture was not actually the straw that broke the camel's back - no, it was every kid that clicked on that picture and left a hatful comment behind. They share the same amount of guilt that Ken has, maybe more, because a picture is one thing, but words are so much more harmful. And I can guarantee you that no one punished them.In the end, while the prose and dialogue was excellent, I felt that most of the characters were "off" in a way. I just didn't "get" them. The only minor character that felt real to me was Jeff. He wasn't a one dimensional bully, and there was a very good reason for why he was so hostile to Brandon. Misplaced reason, but understandable. And I also felt that a false sense of hope was written into the story. Not only would Ken not be going to that particular college, but there would be a hell of a lot more than the legal profession that would be closed to him (see below). Finally, the fact that he says to himself "nothing matters" a few pages before the end didn't exactly end the book on the level of hope that I think the final email is supposed to inspire.Kids can be rotten. A 13-year old doesn't have the same conscience that a 21-year old does - in fact, the brain has to grow and evolve until it's 21-22 years old. Kids can make terrible choices. They need to be taught. They need to be corrected. I felt that Ken's punishment was excessive. I forgave the people who tortured me. I had no choice. If you carry that kind of poison around and don't let it go, it is ultimately you who will be poisoned. A person needs to set themselves free the first chance they get. I hope Brandon and Jeff were able to work things out. I hope that Brandon was able to free himself. Hell, as the years went by, some of my tormenters became my friends. We grew up. They matured and found their consciences. I actually felt healed that some of these people were able to do a 180 and become my friends. It wasn't just forgiveness, it let me embrace the past and actually fix it in a way. So I totally believe that Julie could love Ken and maybe they would have a future together.This is one thing from reality that bothers me: Not everyone on the sex offenders list is a rapist or a pedophile. There are quite a few young teenagers out there who get put on this list for playing with internet porn. This is also becoming a bigger and bigger problem. And I think the punishment far outweighs the crime here. Once a person goes on that list, their life is essentially over. They probably won't get accepted to college. Probably no one will hire them. Of course no one will marry them because of the fact that they're "perverts". And they should definitely not have children, because the state can snoop in at any time, for any reason it feels like (no suspicious act need to have occurred or be reported) and take the children permanently away. In our society's zeal to keep sex offenders away from us - which is a very good thing - we have gone overboard in some cases and are ending lives before they ever begin. It reminds me of the lists that McCarthy kept. I worked as a paralegal for many years, and you can believe me when I tell you Ken would never have been accepted to a school like USC (or SUNY for NYS residents) and certainly will never be hired in a job that pays much more than minimum wage. A kid who posts naked pictures on the net should in no way be treated like a rapist or a pedophile. They've done wrong, but their lives should not be destroyed because of it. So, in the end, I felt that this story caused me to sympathize more with the bully than with the one who was bullied. And, again, I say this as one who was tortured through his school years and came very close to being Liam: Liam's life ended quickly. Ken will not be so lucky. And I would never wish that kind of fate on any of the kids who tormented me. There is justice, there is punishment, and then there is just revenge. Revenge gets people nowhere, as Liam's father demonstrated.

SEND is a young adult - ages 13 and up - contemporary novel about cyberbullying. It's the first of two published novels by Patty Blount, and was chosen by the School Library Journal as one of their Fall picks last year.In the wake of the Amanda Todd tragedy and others like it, cyberbullying, is finally coming to everyone's attention as a serious issue that must be addressed. And because of my own personal experience, I wholeheartedly agree. As I found out the hard way, adults can be victims too. Cyberbullying is defined as the use of the internet in any form to harass, defame, intimidate, and otherwise mentally torture someone. Technically, the term applies specifically to the victimization of children and adolescents. When it happens to adults, it's called "cyber-harassment," because the laws to protect adults are different, but bulling by any other name is still bullying.Because SEND concerns the misuse of the internet, it is not only a novel about a problem that plagues teen-agers today, but also a novel about the dangers of technology. As such, it is a novel of interest not only to young adults, but to anyone who is concerned with the misuse of technology.What I find especially interesting about about SEND is that it does not approach the subject in the obvious, predictable way - from the point of view of a victim. Instead the story is told from the point of view of a former bully, Dan/Ken, who is trying to deal with his guilt and rebuild some semblance of a normal life. Exactly what Dan/Ken did is revealed only in stages throughout the book, but we learn right away that he has had to change his name and his family has had to relocate several times because his actions caused another boy, Liam, to commit suicide - or so Dan/Ken believes. In my opinion, he was guilty of starting the chain of events, but there were plenty of other kids who chimed in and added to Liam's pain. We also learn that this story takes place back before cyberbullying was an official on-the-books crime. Alas, this makes things worse for our protagonist, because a judge convicts him of a much worse crime - a crime that makes him a target in the juvenile detention center he is sent to.As SEND opens, Dan/Ken is beginning his senior year of high school and hoping to remain invisible. But when he feels compelled to stop another bully, Jeff, from beating up a smaller boy, Brandon, and gets a punch in the jaw for his trouble, the whole remaining invisible thing goes down the tubes. To make matters worse, he attracts the attention of a girl, Julie, who seems to be keeping a close eye on him from that point forward.As the story progresses, we learn more about the complex relationship between Jeff, Julie, and Brandon. An equally complex relationship develops between Dan/Ken and Julie. We learn about Dan/Ken's past - what he did and how he has been punished. We find out that Brandon is also the victim of cyberbullying, and that there is a serious tragedy in Julie's past. Along the way, we learn a lot not only about cyberbullying but about many other issues confronting troubled teens. It's a significant novel about some very important subjects that need to be brought to public attention.I wish I could say I had no complaints about SEND, and I will start with the disclaimer that someone who is a member if the book's intended audience might be more qualified to judge it. That said ...What I found the most problematic is that the book seems to go in for sensationalism in spots - and a lot of it is sensationalism that seems to be of a rather adult nature. We have a generous helping of f-bombs and a rather graphic sex scene that just might get this an R-rating if it were made into a movie - and the intended readership is ages 13 and up. Okay, I read several young adult novels in high school, and there was some profanity and plots that involved sex. But the profanity always stopped short of the f- word and the sex took place off the pages of the novel. Well, I guess that was then and this is now.While I wouldn't call the violent confrontation at the end "adult," I would call it formulaic. There have been countless books, movies, etc., involving a protracted adversarial relationship between two male characters which is resolved by some kind of physical confrontation between them. Because SEND does not approach its subject matter from the obvious, predictable angle, I was rather disappointed at what seemed like a predictable climax.What I also found somewhat predictable was the "surprise" twist near the end of the book. I personally wasn't all that surprised. It occurs to me, however, that maybe the reader wasn't supposed to be surprised. And it really doesn't matter that much. What's important here is the shock the Dan/Ken experiences when he finds out.Finally, I had mixed feelings about "Kenny," our protagonist's alter-ego who lives inside his head and often gives him orders. While it is quite believable that Dan/Ken would develop some sort of mental aberration as the result of all the emotional baggage he's carrying around, this particular plot device seemed somewhat contrived, and again, formulaic.But despite the problems, I still recommend SEND. It's about a problem the world needs to know about and address, and this is a good introduction to that problem and what it does to real people.

This is a great book especially in today's society with all the social media outlets. Hopefully after reading people will think before hiding behind a keyboard.

Well written, emotive, emotional and thought-provoking... Send Isn't jam packed with lots of events but still manages to take you on an emotional rollercoaster as the main character, Dan, attempts to come to terms with his mistakes. It explores themes such as teen suicide, cyberbullying, love and guilt and while the entire story is narrated by Dan, the author manages to portray different sides and aspects of these themes very effectively. If you enjoyed The Perks of Being Wallflower by Steven Chbosky then I would most definitely recommend this book.

this book permit a refexion on the consequence of the new power every people had with internet. The book is good writing and intelligent.